Quarterback Luke Nickel threw for 413 yards and four touchdowns to lead No. 1 Milton to a 56-35 win over Hughes in the Class 5A championship game on Tuesday and give the Eagles their second straight title.

Milton won the Class 7A title in 2023 and now has three state championships. It was the first 15-0 season in school history.                                                                                                  

Nickel, a Miami signee, completed 21 of 22 passes and threw scoring strikes of 70 yards to freshman Jordan Carrasquillo, 50 yards to Ethan Barbour, 65 yards to Tristen Payne and 23-yards to C.J. Wiley. Barbour, a Georgia signee, caught nine passes for 50 yards. Payne and Wiley, also a Georgia signee, both had four receptions.

All the air power almost obscured the 201-yard rushing performance by T.J. Lester, an Eastern Kentucky commit, who scored on touchdown runs of 6, 6 and 2 yards.

Milton finished with 671 total yards.

Hughes (13-2) hung with the Eagles for the first two quarters and trailed 42-35 at the half. The Panthers amassed 451 yards in offense behind quarterback Christian Langford, who completed 15 of 19 passes for 245 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 66 yards on 16 carries.

Carsyn Baker rushed 14 times for 115 yards and three touchdowns, scoring on runs of 70, 1 and 8 yards. Maurice Gleaton caught two passes, both for touchdowns of 62 and 65 yards.

But the Milton defense did not allow a point in the second half and limited Hughes to only three possessions over the final two quarters.